He could-a been the champion of the world

Our week that began with an earthquake ended with a hurricane. But, as it happened, the latest graphic of Hurricane Irene’s path showed the outer edge of the system passing by just 15 or so miles away. So it really missed us. We had some rain and wind, but it wasn’t bad at all, and the power stayed on. (Which, for this part of Virginia, is remarkable, since gentle breezes are often enough to put us in the dark for hours.)

The hurricane as a whole wasn’t as bad as feared, though it killed 18 people, knocked out power for millions, flooded some areas and did other damage. Now comes the second guessing, criticizing the governors for evacuating areas and making a bigger deal of the thing than it turned out to be. But I think the officials did what they needed to do. No one could tell what the hurricane would do. An excess of caution and of preparation is better than the blind optimism and lack of preparation that we saw with Hurricane Katrina. A storm whirling like a buzzsaw (a splendid description I read in one report) running along the entire East Coast is surely something to worry about. That it lost power and turned into a mere tropical storm by the time it hit New York City is something we should just be thankful for.

But I do need to report something: Many of the plants in our garden were blown down. The result was something I can only describe as a crop circle. Which means that aliens landed in our garden! In a hurricane!

Professor of Literature at Patrick Henry College, the Director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, a columnist for World Magazine and TableTalk, and the author of 18 books on different facets of Christianity & Culture.

Pete

Here in eastern North Carolina, Irene still packed a wallop – (could take a man out with just one punch). Rained and blew all day Saturday. When it abated some, towards evening, I ventured out to check the fence and roof (all intact) and count the downed trees (4 – but only one big one). Out from one of the natural areas stumbled a pitiful looking squirrel – soaked to the skin with the “drowned rat” look and moving at about 1/4 squirrel speed. He had obviously had a bad day. Now the mournful wail of the chain saws goes up from across the land.

Pete

Here in eastern North Carolina, Irene still packed a wallop – (could take a man out with just one punch). Rained and blew all day Saturday. When it abated some, towards evening, I ventured out to check the fence and roof (all intact) and count the downed trees (4 – but only one big one). Out from one of the natural areas stumbled a pitiful looking squirrel – soaked to the skin with the “drowned rat” look and moving at about 1/4 squirrel speed. He had obviously had a bad day. Now the mournful wail of the chain saws goes up from across the land.

Tom Hering

We need to consider the probability that aliens caused the hurricane just to cover their landing in your garden, Dr. Veith. As we’ve discussed elsewhere, the motives of aliens may be incomprehensible, and the UFO literature is filled with incidents of “high strangeness.”

Tom Hering

We need to consider the probability that aliens caused the hurricane just to cover their landing in your garden, Dr. Veith. As we’ve discussed elsewhere, the motives of aliens may be incomprehensible, and the UFO literature is filled with incidents of “high strangeness.”

helen

Cry, the beloved shade trees! In Galveston, after hurricane Ike snapped off most of the century+ oaks and other trees, people made wood sculptures out of the remaining trunks. Galveston Island lost 40,000 trees…

You can find “thumbnails” here. googling : tree sculptures galveston will call up more sites.

helen

Cry, the beloved shade trees! In Galveston, after hurricane Ike snapped off most of the century+ oaks and other trees, people made wood sculptures out of the remaining trunks. Galveston Island lost 40,000 trees…